1. THE TRAFALGAR ROLL
The Battle of Trafalgar 21st. October 1805
The poop­deck of HMS Victory, noon, 21st October 1805
The Captains and their Ships
Thomas Hardy Victory
Charles Bullen Britannia
Thomas Fremantle Neptune
Richard Grindall Prince
William Hargood Belleisle
Francis Laforey Spartiate
Philip Durham Defiance
Israel Pellew Conqueror
James Morris Colossus
Henry Bayntun Leviathan
Edward Codrington Orion
Lieut. John Pilford Ajax ***
Robert Redmill Polyphemus
Edward Berry Agamemnon
Thomas Capel Phoebe *
William Prowse Sirius *
Edward Rotherham Royal Sovereign
Eliab Harvey Temeraire

2. John Conn Dreadnought
Charles Tyler Tonnant
Robert Moorsom Revenge
George Duff (D) Mars **
Charles Mansfield Minotaur
Richard King Achilles
George Hope Defence
John Cooke (D) Bellerophon
William Rutherford Swiftsure
Lieut. John Stockham Thunderer ***
Henry Digby Africa
Henry Blackwood Euryalus *
Thomas Dundas Naiad *
* Frigates, not engaged.
** On the death of Captain Duff, the First Lieutenant, William Hennah, took command.
He received the Thanks of Parliament, Gold Medal and Sword from the Patriotic Fund, as
did all captains, and he was, himself, promoted to Captain. He also received the unusual
honour of a Letter of Commendation from the ship's company.
*** Lieuts. Pilford and Stockham were acting in the absence of their captains. Both
received the honours bestowed on all captains.
The Commanders
Vice Admiral Viscount Nelson of the Nile and Burnham Thorpe KB, RN.
Commander in Chief, Mediterranean Fleet
HMS Victory Captain Thomas Hardy
Vice Admiral Sir Cuthbert Collingwood KB, RN
Second in command, leading the Lee Column
HMS Royal Sovereign Captain Edward Rotherham

3. Rear Admiral the Earl of Northesk KB, RN
Third in Command, followed Nelson in the Weather Column
HMS Britannia Captain Charles Bullen
The Battle of Trafalgar
Fought on the 21st. October 1805, effectively ended the war at sea.
Lord Nelson died at about 4.30pm. by which time he knew that he had achieved the
overwhelming victory that he had planned so carefully. Nelson had left nothing to
chance. The two­column, right­angled attack worked exactly as he had intended by
splitting the enemy fleet into smaller groups that immediately fell prey to the guns of the
British fleet.
The Battle of Trafalgar
21st October 1805
In the hours leading up to the battle, Lord Nelson, in the quiet solitude of the Great Cabin in
HMS Victory , composed an elegant prayer that says much for him as a patriot, a naval
commander and, above all, a very generous and humane man. He understood the rigours and

4. hardships of sailors and held a strong belief in Christian charity and had no wish to see his
philosophy of annihilation to proceed beyond the act of surrender.
"May The Great God whom I worship grant to my country and for the benefit of Europe in
general, a great and glorious victory; and may no misconduct in anyone tarnish it; and may
humanity after victory be the predominant feature of the British Fleet. For myself
individually I commit my life to Him who made me, and may this blessing light upon my
endeavours for serving my country faithfully. To Him I resign myself and the just cause
which is entrusted to me to defend. Amen. Amen. Amen."
The Fleet observed Nelson's prayer to the letter. Yet no­one present in the Fleet could have
known what he had written. It is a tribute to the example that Lord Nelson set for his officers
and men that when the burden of history fell upon them they knewwhat he expected.
HMS Victory leads the Weather column into battle
Image Courtesy of The Royal Naval Museum
The Battle of Trafalgar, 21st October 1805
By kind permission of Tom Pocock
From his book "Horatio Nelson" pages 322 to 333
As always before battle, Nelson had apprehensions of death or wounds. It would have been
curious if he had not for he would be exposed on his quarterdeck until, after the first
broadside, it was often hid by gunsmoke and even then roundshot, grapeshot and the chain
and bar shot fired to cut rigging, would be flying. His aim was to assault the centre and rear
of the enemy line, leaving the van to sail on or attempt to turn and fight while he destroyed
the other two­thirds. With his own twenty­seven sail of the line attacking in two divisions
— there were not enough ships to form a third in reserve — he would face the thirty­three

5. enemy ships but with these tactics, the odds would be in his favour when the fighting
began. Then courage, skill in ship­handling and gunnery would be decisive. His own ships'
companies had been at sea continuously, sometimes for years, while the French and
Spanish had spent most of that time in port. His guns' crews could fire at twice the rate of
the enemy and had a technical advantage: the British guns were fired instantaneously by
flintlock and lanyard, making aim and accuracy more effective; the French and Spanish
still used the slow­match and power­train involving a delay before discharge which could
throw the aim of gun­layers in a rolling ship. Finally, if it came to boarding and "service
hand­to­hand", he had shown his men exactly what was expected of them by his own
example. In the event of signals being invisible through the smoke, he told his captains in
the written instructions he sent them:
"No captain can do very wrong if he places his ship alongside that of an enemy."
On the morning of 20th October, Nelson's frigate's saw the last of the enemy ships of the
line emerge from Cadiz. There were no means of telling what Villeneuve planned to do
and no hint had reached the British of the events that had at last forced him to accept battle.
Back in August, when Villeneuve had taken refuge in Ferrol, Napoleon had still expected
that he would break out to join with Ganteaume's fleet from Brest and sail for the Channel
to make his invasion possible. But the latter had been blockaded in port, while the former
had run south to Cadiz; news of this reaching Napoleon soon after he had heard that
Austria and Russia were to ally themselves with Britain against France. The invasion of
England must therefore be postponed, he decided, and at the end of August the Grande
Armee began to strike camp along the coast and begin the long march to Germany. Shortly
before leaving Paris to lead his armies, Napoleon sent new instructions to Villeneuve: he
was to sail into the Mediterranean with the combined French and Spanish fleets, land
troops at Naples, to forestall any British attempt to reinforce the Austrians from the south;
then make for Toulon. Villeneuve was relieved at what seemed an easier option than
fighting his way to the Straits of Dover and that he was allowed to choose his date for
departure. In the event this was forced upon him by the humiliating news that the more
senior Admiral Rosily was on his way overland to Cadiz; not, as he had at first supposed,
to offer support and advice but to supersede him. When he heard that he was already at
Madrid but delayed there by a broken carriage­spring, he decided to leave for the
Mediterranean while he was still in command. On the morning of 19th October, he had
given the order for his fleet to sail. Twenty­four hours later, all thirty­three of them were
clear of the harbour and steering south­west.
British frigates signalled each move to ships on the horizon and these repeated the news to
the main fleet waiting some thirty miles from land. To avoid frightening Villeneuve back
into port, Nelson ordered his fleet on to a parallel course to Villeneuve's, keeping about
twenty miles to the westward. This he continued throughout the night of the 20th, then at
four o'clock on the morning of the 21st October, he turned his fleet towards the north­east
so that at dawn he would be about nine miles to windward of his enemy and in a
commanding position from which to attack. By then, Villeneuve would be so far from
Cadiz and from the Straits of Gibraltar sailing some thirty miles south­west of Cape
Trafalgar; while Nelson hovered, ready to strike, with the wind in his sails. A battle would
be inevitable.
The morning dawned clear with a light breeze but the ships were heaving over a slow
Atlantic swell, which grew heavier, suggesting a gale approaching from the west. When it

6. was light enough to signal by flags, Nelson ordered the fleet to take up battle formation:
one division led by himself in the Victory; the other by Collingwood in the Royal
Sovereign. It was a slow process since the great ships moved at no more than walking pace
yet this did not lessen the certainty of a battle with the mass of enemy ships that now were
seen blocking the eastern horizon. "The French and Spanish fleets were like a great wood
on our lee bow," remembered Able Seaman Brown, watching from Nelson's flagship,
"which cheered the hearts of any British tar in the Victory like lions anxious to be at it."
Nelson was pacing his quarterdeck, wearing his usual uniform coat embroidered with the
four stars of his principal honours, giving orders to Hardy and the captains of his four
frigates. This done, one of them, Henry Blackwood, who had come to Merton with the
news that had brought them here, and Hardy were taken down to his cabin and asked to
witness a document. This was Nelson's new will in which he had written, "I leave Emma
Hamilton ... a legacy to my King and Country, that they will give her ample provision to
maintain her rank in life. I also leave to the beneficence of my Country, my adopted
daughter Horatia Nelson Thompson; and I desire she will use in future the name of Nelson
only. These are the only favours I ask of my King and Country at this moment when I am
going to fight their battle ..."
At the moment of sighting the enemy it had been reckoned that action could not be joined
for about six hours, so that there was plenty of time to prepare. All the ships had been
cleared of partitions, furniture and lumber, so that the decks were clear but for the long,
parallel lines of cannon along either side, run out of their open gun­ports. The scene was
majestic: the two columns of great ships, studding­sails spread wide to catch the breeze,
riding slowly over the long ocean swell; on the decks of some, bands playing cheerful
nautical tunes, particularly Heart of Oak; every ship cleared and ready for action; some
marines cleaning their muskets again while sailors sharpened cutlasses and, here and there,
danced a hornpipe to pass the time. Nelson, talking with his officers in the sunlight on the
quarterdeck, recalled that it was both the anniversary of his uncle Captain Maurice
Suckling's action with the French in the West Indies that had inspired his boyhood hero­
worship, and also the day of the autumn fair at Burnham Thorpe. He toured the ship with
Hardy, speaking to men at the guns and sometimes joking. One Irish sailor was cutting a
notch in a wooden gun­carriage, it was said; explaining that he was adding it to the others
he had carved to mark victories and doing so now in case he was killed winning another.
"You'll make notches enough in the enemy's ships," laughed Nelson.
The long array of enemy ships, stretching some four miles across the horizon, was slowly
growing larger and it was possible to see the colours. Some French ships were painted like
the British, black with broad yellow stripes running along each side so that, when their
gun­ports were opened, they looked chequered; others wore red or white stripes, or both,
and some were all black. The iron hoops around their masts were painted black and Nelson
had ordered that all his ships had theirs painted yellow so that they could be identified
above the smoke of baffle. At eleven o'clock, the Victory and Royal Sovereign were three
miles from the enemy line; when they were one mile distant, they would come within
range of the enemy's broadsides. Nelson went below to his cabin and there Lieutenant
Pasco, the acting signals officer, following with a question about his duties, saw him on his
knees and, as he said, "remained stationary and quiet until he rose."
All Nelson's religious instincts and beliefs had come together at this moment: his
upbringing by his saintly father and his early memories of quiet Norfolk churches; his

7. moment of spiritual inspiration and his vision of the "radiant orb" in the South Atlantic; his
reliance upon Providence and prayer and the private relationship with the deity which, he
felt, overrode the conventions of public morality. This expressed itself in his vigourous,
easy prose. The prayer he composed that morning he wrote in his diary in the strong,
crabbed hand that had become so familiar, under the date, "Monday, October, 21st, 1805
When Lieutenant Pasco saw him on his knees, he had just written:
May the Great God, whom I worship, grant to my Country and for the benefit of
Europe in general a great and glorious victory, and may no misconduct in anyone
tarnish it, and may humanity after victory be the predominant feature in the British
Fleet. For myself individually, I commit my life to Him who had made me and may
His blessing light upon my endeavours for serving my Country faithfully. To Him I
resign myself and the just cause which is entrusted me to defend. Amen, amen, amen.
A few moments later, Nelson joined Pasco on deck and ordered him to make a signal. "I
wish to say... 'England confides that every man will do his duty'," he told him. "You must
be quick for I have one more to make, which is for close action." Pasco asked if he could
substitute the word "expects", which was a single flag in the signal book, for "confides"
which would involve a complicated host of alphabetical flags. "That will do," answered
Nelson. "Make it directly." The flags flew up the halyards and the telescopes of the fleet
were upon them. "What is Nelson signalling about?" growled Collingwood on the
quarterdeck of the Royal Sovereign. "We all know what we have to do."
The British fleet was not sailing into action as Nelson had planned. The wind was so light
that his two columns would not have time to form line abreast before meeting the enemy.
Thus, as they approached, the enemy would be able to concentrate their fire on the leading
ships, so being able to "cross the T" of their opponents; advantage that would usually prove
decisive. Yet Nelson accepted the risk, realising that both the Victory and the Royal
Sovereign might have to withstand the fire of broadsides concentrated on their bows nearly
half­an­hour before they could bring their own to bear (see plan, page xvi).
The two leading ships were now a mile from the open gun­ports of the enemy line, and in
the Neptune, sailing astern of the Victory, a midshipman saw what was imminent: "Their
broadsides turned towards us, showing their iron teeth, and now and then trying the range
of a shot ... that they might, the moment we came within point­blank, open their fire upon
our van ships." At noon, the Royal Sovereign came under fire and the watching Nelson
said: "See how that noble fellow Collingwood takes his ship into action! How I envy him!"
And Collingwood, knowing what his friend would be thinking, turned to one of his
officers as the round­shot flew and said: "What would Nelson give to be here!"
On the quarterdeck of the Victory, Nelson stood with Hardy and Blackwood while his
secretary, John Scott, his chaplain, the Reverend Alexander Scott, and the surgeon Dr.
William Beatty, talked nearby. The doctor worried that the four stars embroidered on the
admiral's uniform would mark him as a target when they were within range of rifle­fire
and that he should change into a plain coat.' "Take care, doctor, what you are about,"
warned the admiral's secretary. "I would not be the man to mention such a matter to him."
Beatty tried and failed to do so, hovering near the admiral, awaiting a pause in his earnest
talk with his officers. Blackwood was trying to persuade him to transfer to his frigate for
safety and a clearer view of the action. When this was refused he and Hardy suggested that
the ninety­eight gun ship sailing astern of the Victory, the Temeraire — so named after a

8. famous ship once captured from the French should lead the line and bear the brunt of the
first broadsides. Nelson insisted that his flagship continue to lead but with the Temeraire
and the Neptune, also of ninety­eight guns, in close support. In the event it was Hardy who
raised the question of the coat, suggesting that the decorations might catch the eye of a
sniper; he later said Nelson had replied that "he was aware it might be seen but it was now
too late to be shifting a coat".
A shot, fired at extreme range, flew overhead and the admiral ordered Blackwood back to
his ship. They shook hands and before the young captain climbed down the side to his
boat, he said: "I trust, my Lord, that on my return to the Victory ... I shall find your
Lordship well and in possession of twenty prizes." "God bless you, Blackwood," replied
Nelson, "I shall never speak to you again." Another shot punched through the main
topgallant sail. A moment later, another howled across the deck and split a man open; it
was the admiral's secretary. "Is that poor Scott?" asked Nelson as seamen heaved the
mangled body over the side.
The Victory, surging towards the enemy line, could not bring her own broadside to bear
and was raked from bow to stern by their broadsides. One shot smashed the ship's wheel to
splinters and she had to be steered by the forty seamen standing by the huge tiller on the
lower gun­deck, helm­orders reaching them by messenger. Another shot cut through a file
of marines standing along the rolled hammocks packed in netting along the bulwarks as a
barricade and waiting to engage enemy snipers; eight were dead and Nelson ordered the
survivors to be dispersed around the upper deck. Splinters of wood whirred across the
quarter deck, one denting the silver buckle of Hardy's shoe; he caught the admiral's eye and
Nelson said calmly: "This is too warm work to last long."
As a feint, the Victory had been steering for the enemy's van, but now Nelson ordered a
turn that would swing the ship and those following her towards the twelfth in the line. He
was looking for Villeneuve's flagship, hoping to fight her, ship to ship; but no admiral's
flag could be seen except that of a Spanish rear­admiral flying from the colossal Santissima
Trinidad of four decks and 140 guns, which he had hoped to capture at St. Vincent eight
years before. Astern of her sailed one French ship of eighty guns and another of seventy­
four: the Bucentaure and the Redoubtable, the former proving to be Villeneuve's flagship;
the latter, the most efficient fighting ship in the combined fleets, whose captain, Lucas,
had trained his men in boarding and sniping from the masts. At half­past twelve, Hardy
asked the admiral which of these three ships, all firing into the Victory, they should
challenge first. "It does not signify which we turn on board," replied Nelson. "Take your
choice."
So the Victory turned towards the stern of the Bucentaure and, as she passed the array of
elegant windows lighting the admiral's and captain's cabins, she unleashed her broadside:
fifty guns loaded with two or three roundshot each, blew in her stern, dismounted twenty
guns and killed or wounded half her crew. Then the Victory herself was raked by a
broadside from the French eighty­four­gun ship Neptune, crossing her bows. Billowing
smoke hid the collision of the fleets as Hardy ordered the helm over again to steer for the
Redoubtable: the ships crashed together, their yards and rigging locking; their guns firing,
muzzle to muzzle. Through the smoke, Lucas could be seen assembling boarders on deck
to swarm across the bulwarks until a blast of grapeshot from the Victory cut them down.
Astern of the British flagship the Temeraire followed through the gap she had forced, as
the two British columns, ship by ship, joined battle. At the heart of it the two admirals and

9. their heaviest ships fought in a vortex of smoke, flame and shattered ships.
"Engaging the French and Spanish admirals, one on each side," wrote Thomas Johns, an
able seaman in the Victory, in a letter to his parents, ''we was so involved in smoke and fire
not to be seen by any of our frigates looking on for about half an hour and they thought we
was blown up or sunk, having no less than five ships on us at the time, but we were
bravely seconded by the Temeraire or we would have been sunk, it being their orders and
intention to capture or sink Lord Nelson's ship."
An hour after the first shots, Nelson and Hardy still stood on the quarterdeck, pacing to and
fro, stopping to give orders; mostly hidden by swirling smoke but sometimes revealed as it
blew away. At about a quarter past one, Hardy turned to see Nelson on his knees. He was
supporting himself with the fingers of his left hand on the bloodstained deck. Then he fell
on to his left side. A sergeant­major of marines and two seamen lifted his shoulders and
Hardy knelt beside him; he had been hit in the shoulder by a sniper's bullet from the
Redoubtable. "They have done for me at last, Hardy," Nelson told him. "My backbone is
shot through." The three men lifted him, on Hardy's orders, to carry him down the ladders
to the surgeon on the orlop deck below the waterline. On reaching the middle deck, Nelson
ordered them to stop and he gave orders to a midshipman for the adjustment of the tiller­
ropes. Then he took a handkerchief from his pocket and spread it across his face in the
hope that he would not be recognised by his men as he was carried below.
Down in the gloom of the lowest deck, lit by the faint glimmer of horn lanterns, Beatty, the
surgeon, was busy with more than forty wounded and dying men until called: "Mr. Beatty,
Lord Nelson is here. Mr. Beatty, the admiral is wounded." As he was lowered to the deck
and the handkerchief fell from his face, he looked up at the surgeon and said, "Ah, Mr.
Beatty! You can do nothing for me. I have but a short time to live; my back is shot
through." While the doctor examined his wound and removed his blood­stained clothes,
Nelson looked at his surroundings. Sailors carrying more wounded men down the ladder,
stooped to clear the low beams, painted blood­red, to lay their loads in rows on the deck. In
the gloom the figures of the surgeons and the surgeons' mates moved along the bodies,
examining them or lifting them to a table covered with sailcloth to probe a wound, or
conduct an amputation with knife and saw and with rum to deaden the pain. The scene was
lit by the lanterns which dimmed or brightened as the concussion of broadsides from the
decks above sucked the air from the orlop deck. The noise and vibration of the battle was
thunderous, muffling the screams and moans of the injured men below.
Amongst those brought down was young midshipman Rivers, his leg shot away. As he saw
Captain Hardy he muttered something about now being of no further use to him; Nelson
heard and ordered, "Mind, Hardy, that youngster is not forgot." Dr. Scott, the chaplain,
picked his way across the bodies to the admiral's side and his presence seemed to make
Nelson aware of death. "Doctor, I told you," he said quickly, "Doctor, I am gone." Then,
agitated and breathless, he added, "Remember me to Lady Hamilton. Remember me to
Horatia. Remember me to all my friends. Doctor, remember me to Mr. Rose; tell him I
have left a will and left Lady Hamilton and Horatia to my country."
The surgeon had completed his investigation of the wound. A musket ball, fired from
above, had struck his left shoulder, penetrated deep into his chest and probably lodged in
the spine but, he told Nelson, he would not put him to the pain of trying to probe the
wound. He then asked him what sensations he felt and was told that his breathing was

10. difficult, he had no feeling in the lower part of his body; he felt "a gush of blood every
minute" within his chest. "I felt it break my back," he said. He was hot and thirsty and
lemonade and watered wine was brought to him. "Fan, fan ... drink, drink," he kept
whispering.
Among the explosions above, he heard a hoarse cheer and asked the reason. Lieutenant
Pasco, also wounded, was lying nearby and raised himself on an elbow to explain that the
gun­crews must have seen through their gun­port an enemy ship strike her colours. The
admiral wanted news of the battle and called for Hardy: "Will no one bring Hardy to me?
He must be killed." Then a midshipman came below to tell him that his flag­captain was
engaged on deck but would come down as soon as possible. He asked the name of the
midshipman and the purser, Mr. Burke, kneeling at his side, answered, "It is Mr. Bulkeley,
my Lord." Turning his head towards the boy he said. "It is his voice. Remember me to your
father." For a moment the memory returned of a brisk and friendly Army officer he had
met in the jungle of Nicaragua. Then to the purser he said, "It is nonsense, Mr. Burke, to
suppose I can live. My sufferings are great but they will soon be over."
During the hour since Nelson had been hit, the "pell­mell battle" that he had planned was
fought. One after the other, the stately ships of the two British columns swung into action:
Nelson's attacking the enemy's centre; Collingwood's, the rear. As Villeneuve's flagship
had joined battle with the Victory, he had signalled to Rear­Admiral Dumanoir, who
commanded the van, to turn back and support him. But the wind was so light that of the ten
ships which managed to turn, only five joined the fighting. Meanwhile, the Bucentaure had
been battered into a wreck by the Victory, and then by the Conqueror, until only one of
her three masts still stood. At half­past one, Villeneuve, realising that Dumanoir could not
lead his ships into action, himself had signal flags run up the halyards of his one remaining
mast ordering the individual captains of the van to join him as best they could. Then that
mast, too, crashed over the side and, at a quarter past two, Villeneuve surrendered his
flagship to Captain Israel Pellew of the Conqueror. The action was now a succession of
duels between ships, loosing broadsides into each other at point­blank range, half­hidden
from each other by smoke. Only spasmodically did news reach the Victory of one French
or Spanish ship after another striking their colours in surrender.
At about half­past two, Hardy came stooping beneath the beams to kneel by Nelson, shake
his hand and report. "We have got twelve or fourteen of the enemy's ships in our
possession," he said, "but five of their van have tacked and show an intention of bearing
down on the Victory. I have therefore called two or three of our fresh ships around us and
have no doubt of giving them a drubbing." "I hope none of our ships have struck?" asked
Nelson. "No, my Lord," answered Hardy, "there is no fear of that." There was a pause; then
Nelson said, "I am a dead man, Hardy. I am going fast. It will all be over with me soon.
Come nearer to me. Pray let my dear Lady Hamilton have my hair and all the other things
belonging to me." "Is your pain great?" he was asked. "Yes, but I shall live half an hour
longer yet."
Hardy returned to the deck and Dr. Beatty came back to his side. "Ah, Mr. Beatty," he said,
"all power and motion and feeling below my breast are gone. You very well know I can
live but a short time. Ah, Beatty, I am too certain of it. You know I am gone." "My Lord,"
replied the surgeon, "unhappily for our country, nothing can be done for you" and he
turned to stifle his sobs. "God be praised," whispered the dying man, "I have done my
duty." Beatty asked about the pain and was told that it was so severe he wished he was

11. dead, "yet one would like to live a little longer, too ... What would become of poor Lady
Hamilton if she knew my situation?" His thoughts were interrupted by the jar and thunder
of a broadside, the huge cannon bounding back in recoil on the deck above. "Oh, Victory!
Victory! how you distract my poor brain!" His thoughts concentrated again. "How dear is
life to all men."
Hardy returned fifty minutes after his first visit, and took his cold hand, congratulating him
on "a brilliant victory". It was complete, he said, although he did not know how many
enemy ships had surrendered, but he was certain of having taken fourteen or fifteen. "That
is well," replied Nelson, "but I had bargained for twenty." Then with emphasis he gasped,
"Anchor, Hardy, anchor!" He had felt the heave and lurch of the ship increase and knew
that the gale he had forecast must be imminent. "I suppose, my Lord, Admiral
Collingwood will now take upon himself the direction of affairs?" "Not while I live, I
hope, Hardy. No, do you anchor, Hardy." "Shall we make the signal, sir?" "Yes, for if I
live, I'll anchor."
There was another pause, then Nelson said, "Don't throw me overboard, Hardy." "Oh, no,
certainly not." "Then you know what to do?" Nelson went on. "Take care of my dear Lady
Hamilton, Hardy, take care of poor Lady Hamilton." Then he said faintly, "Kiss me,
Hardy."' Hardy knelt and kissed his cheek. "Now I am satisfied," said Nelson. "Thank God
I have done my duty." Captain Hardy stood, stooped and silent, for a moment, then knelt
again and kissed Nelson's forehead. "Who is that?" he asked. "It is Hardy." "God bless you,
Hardy."
Nelson now asked his steward, Chevalier, to turn him on to his right side. This may have
eased the pain but it hastened the onset of death for the blood that had flooded the left lung,
now began to drain into the right. "I wish I had not left the deck," he said, "for I shall soon
be gone." His breathing became slow and shallow, his voice weaker and he whispered to
his chaplain, "Doctor, I have not been a great sinner". Then, "Remember that I leave Lady
Hamilton and my daughter Horatia as a legacy to my country... never forget Horatia." His
distress increased with heat, thirst and pain which could be eased by Scott rubbing his
chest. "Thank God I have done my duty," he was heard to mutter: "Drink, drink. Fan, fan.
Rub, rub ... " Then he became speechless. The chaplain and the purser were supporting his
shoulders and his steward knelt at his side, none speaking. Then Chevalier called Dr.
Beatty and the surgeon took Nelson's wrist: it was cold and he could feel no pulse. At this,
Nelson opened his eyes, looked up and closed them again. The chaplain continued to rub
his chest, while the purser held his shoulders until, at half­past four, the steward called the
surgeon again. He confirmed what they already knew: Nelson was dead.
"Partial firing continued until 4.30 p.m.," Hardy entered in the Victory's log, "when, a
victory having been reported to the Right Hon. Lord Nelson, K.B., and Commander­in­
Chief, he died of his wounds."
The great gale that Nelson had forecast now arose. The, shattered ships, victors and
vanquished, tossed and wallowed in heavy seas, filled with exhausted, wounded and dying
men. Collingwood, now commanding the British fleet, did not anchor as Nelson had
ordered, and, as result, only four of seventeen enemy ships they had captured survived the
storm. So it was not for several days that the extent of the victory and the loss could be
assessed. The British had lost no ships but nearly seventeen hundred men had been killed
or wounded. The combined French and Spanish fleets had, however, lost eighteen ships

12. captured or destroyed in action, nearly six thousand men killed or wounded and twenty
thousand taken prisoner, including Admiral Villeneuve. Although it had not been the total
annihilation that Nelson had planned, it was a total victory: any danger of invasion to
Britain was averted; the Royal Navy had taken command of the seas. Yet joy and
satisfaction were drowned in sorrow at the loss of Nelson.
When the storm had abated, the wounded put ashore at Gibraltar, the ships made water­
tight and the blood scrubbed from the decks, officers and men wrote home to express these
conflicting emotions. Amongst them, Admiral Collingwood wrote to break the news of the
death of their friend to Mary Moutray, a widow aged fifty­four. "It was about the middle
of the action," he told her, "when an officer came from the Victory to tell me he was
wounded. He sent his love to me and desired me to conduct the fleet. I asked the officer if
the wound was dangerous and he, by his look, told what he could not speak, nor I reflect
upon now without suffering again the anguish of that moment. You, my dear madam, who
know what our friendship was, can judge what I have felt. All the praise and acclamations
of joy for our victory only bring to my mind what it has cost."
Alexander Scott, the chaplain who had tended the dying Nelson, wrote from the Victory to
a woman friend in England:
You always mentioned Lord Nelson con amore and it is about him — I can neither think
nor talk of anything else. Let the country mourn their hero; I grieve for the loss of the most
fascinating companion I ever conversed with ­ the greatest and most simple of men — one
of the nicest and most innocent — interesting beyond all, on shore, in public and even in
private life. Men are not always themselves and put on their behaviour with their clothes,
but if you live with a man on board a ship for years; if you are continually with him in his
cabin, your mind will soon find out how to appreciate him. I could for ever tell you the
qualities of this beloved man. I have not shed a tear for years before the 21st of October
and since, whenever alone, I am quite like a child.
The ship's company of the Victory were as grief­stricken. "Great God!" a seaman had
exclaimed on hearing the news, "I would rather the shot had taken off my head and spared
his life." A boatswain's mate was unable to pipe the hands to quarters because of his tears.
"Hang me, I can't do it!" he sobbed. "To lose him now! I wouldn't have cared if it had
been my old father, brother or sisters if there were fifty more of them — but I can't think of
parting with Nelson."
An uneducated seaman, James Bayley, wrote from the ship to his sister, telling his story of
the battle and the death of Nelson: "It was his last words that it was his lot for me to go but
I am going to Heaven, but never haul down your colours to France for your men will stick
to you — them words was to Capt. Hardy and so we did — for we came off victorious and
they have behaved well to us for they wanted to take Ld. Nelson from us, but we told
Capt., as we brought him out we would bring him home, so it was so and he was put into a
cask of spirits."
Nelson's body was preserved first in a cask of brandy — at Gibraltar, this was changed to
spirits of wine — lashed to the mainmast and guarded day and night by a marine sentry as
his cabin had been. The news was being carried to England by the schooner Pickle, her
ensign flying at half­mast, in the form of the first despatch written by Collingwood on the
day after the battle. This did not begin with news of the great victory which would change

13. the course of history, but the death of one man. "Sir," he had begun writing to the Secretary
of the Admiralty. "The ever to be lamented death of Vice­Admiral Lord Viscount Nelson,
who, in the late conflict with the enemy, fell in the hour of victory, leaves me the duty of
informing my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty..."
HMS Victoryis towed into Gibraltar.
The Trafalgar Captains
These pages show a brief biographies of the Captains who served under Lord Nelson's
command at the Battle of Trafalgar. The Captains
and their crews became national heroes. Forty­eight members of the crew of HMS Victory
followed Lord Nelson's coffin in procession to St. Paul's Cathedral and it was they who
lowered their Commander in Chief's body to it's final resting place. The Captains received
national honours and resumed sea service and many of them rose to the rank of Admiral.
Extracts from THE TRAFALGAR ROLL The Ships and the Officers, Colonel Robert Holden
Mackenzie Naval Institute Press ISNB 0­87021­990­1)
Vice Admiral Lord Collingwood
Lord Collingwood
William Carnegie
William Carnegie Earl of Northesk

14. The Weather Column The Lee Column
Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy Edward Rotheram
Sir Eliab Harvey William Hargood
Sir Thomas Francis Fremantle Charles Tyler
Henry William Bayntun John Cooke
Sir Henry Blackwood James Nicoll Morris
Sir Charles Bullen Richard King
Israel Pellew John Conn
Henry Digby Robert Redmill
John Pilfold Robert Moorsom
Edward Codrington William Gordon Rutherford
Charles John Moore Mansfield Philip Charles Durham
Francis Laforey John Stockham
George Johnstone Hope
Richard Grindall
George Duff
The Weather Column
Sir Thomas Masterman HARDY (1769­1839)
Victory
The second son of Joseph Hardy, of Portisham, Dorset, and Nanny, daughter of Thomas
Masterman of Kingston Russel, in the same county. Born in 1769, and educated at
Crewkerne school, he entered the service in 1781, but returned to school in the following year
at Milton Abbas, his name being retained on the ship's books.
After a period in the merchant service, he re­entered the Navy as Midshipman in 1790. Was
Midshipman of Amphitrite in operations before Marseilles and Toulon, 1793. Promoted

15. Lieutenant in 1793 on the Minerve under Nelson he was taken prisoner in an encounter with
the Spanish frigates Sabina and Ceres in 1796. Was present at the victory of St. Vinvent,
1797.
Nelson had a great affection for Hardy, and the story is well known how, when he was
hastening in the Minerve to join Jervis, just before the battle of St. Vincent, and hotly chased in
the Straits by several Spanish men­of­war, a man fell overboard, and Hardy, then a lieutenant,
was lowered in a boat to pick him up. The man, however, could not be found, nor could the
boat be recovered unless the way of the frigate was checked.
The nearest Spaniard was almost within gunshot, and perhaps any other man than Nelson
would have felt that the boat, even with Hardy in it, must be sacrificed to the safety of the
frigate, and all that it meant to Jervis. But Nelson was not made in that mould. "By God, I'll
not lose Hardy!" be exclaimed "Back the mizen­topsail." The boat was picked up, and Hardy
was saved. He commanded the boats of the Minerve and Lively, and was wounded in the
cutting out of the frigate Mutine, 1797, for which he was promoted Commander, and appointed
by Nelson to command the Mutine.
He commanded the Mutine in Nelson's victory of the Nile, 1798, and for his services was
promoted Captain in 1798, and appointed to command of the Vanguard. Served in her and the
Foudroyant under Nelson in Naples and Sicily, 1798­99; and was present in his victory of
Copenhagen in 1801. Flag­Captain of Victory during the blockade of Toulon, and the pursuit
of the combined fleets to the West Indies and back; and Captain of the Fleet at Trafalgar,
1805.
Was a witness to Nelson's last will. Was with him when he received his mortal wound, and
frequently in attendance during the hero's last hours, and at his funeral bore the "Banner of
Emblems." For his services at Trafalgar he was created a baronet, received a gold medal, the
thanks of Parliament, and swords of honour from the Patriotic Fund and City of London.
Was Commander­in­Chief at Lisbon 1809­12, and held the rank of Commodore of the
Portuguese service; commanded a squadron on North American Station, 1812­1813; KCB
1815; commanded the yacht Princess Augusta, 1815­18; Commander­in­Chief, South
American Station, 1819­24; during the War of Independence.
Colonel, Royal Marines, 1821; Rear Admiral, 1825; commanded an Experimental Squadron,
1827; First Sea Lord of Admiralty, 1830­34; GCB 1831; Governor of Greenwich Hospital,
1834; Vice­Admiral 1837; Elder Brother, Trinity House 1837; and died and was buried at
Greenwich Hospital in 1839.
Sir Eliab HARVEY (1758­1830)
Temeraire
The second son of William Harvey, MP of Rolls Park, Chigwell, Essex, and entered service in
1771. Served as Midshipman in the Eagle under Lord Howe on the North American Station,
during the war of American Independence, 1775­78. Appointed Lieutenant 1779. MP for
Maldon, Essex, 1780­81. Commander 1782. Captain 1783. Commanded the Santa
Margaritta at the reduction of Martinique and Guadeloupe in 1794; and assisted in the same

16. year at the destruction of the French frigate La Felicite and two corvettes. Commanded the
Sea Fencibles of Essex in 1798­99.
MP for Essex 1802­12. On the recommencement of the war with France in 1803 was
appointed to the Temeraire (98g) and in command of her greatly distinguished himself at
Trafalgar on the 21 st
October 1805. Received the thanks of Parliament and of Lord
Collingwood, a gold medal, a sword of honour from the Patriotic Fund, and was promote Rear­
Admiral. Was one of the pall­bearers at Lord Nelson's funeral.
Was dismissed the service in 1809 for insubordination to Lord Gambier, but was restored in
the following year and promoted Vice­Admiral. KCB 1815. Admiral 1819. MP for Essex
1820­30. GCB 1825. Died in 1830. Was at one time a great gambler, and is reported to
have lost a fortune in one evening at hazard.
Sir Thomas Francis FREMANTLE (1765­1839)
Neptune
Third son of John Fremantle, of Aston Abbots, Bucks., by his marriage with Frances, daughter
and co­heiress of John Edwards of Bristol. Born in 1765, he entered the service in 1778.
Was a Midshipman in the Phœnix when she was lost on the coast of Cuba, in 1780.
Lieutenant in 1782 – Captain in 1793. As captain of the Tartar (28g) he was at the blockade
of Toulon in 1793 and under Nelson at the reduction of Bastia in Corsica in 1794.
Captain of the Inconstant, which behaved so gallantly in Hotham's action off Genoa, in March
1795. Also in her at the capture of the enemy's gunboats in 1795, the capture of the Unite
1796, and particularly distinguished himself at the evacuation of Leghorn when threatened by
the French, 1796 (mentioned in despatches), and the capture of Prombono in the same year.
Commanded the Seahorse off Cadiz in 1797, and again distinguished himself under Nelson at
Santa Cruz, 1797 – wounded.
Captain of the Ganges in Lord Nelson's victory of Copenhagen, the 2 nd
April 1801. Captain of
the Neptune at Trafalgar, the 21 st
October, 1805: she was the third ship in the weather column,
and lost forty­four killed and wounded – gold medal, sword of honour from the Patriotic
Fund. Appointed a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty, 1807. Captain of the Royal yacht
William and Mary, 1807­10. Rear­Admiral, 1810.
Commanded a squadron in the Adriatic, with his flag in the Milford, during the operations in
1812­14, including the capture of Fiume and Trieste; for which services he was created a
KCB., a Baron of the Austrian States, a Knight of Maria Theresa, and a Knight of St.
Ferdinand and Merit. Advanced to GCB., 1818. Vice­Admiral 1819. Died in 1819 at
Naples, aged 54 when Commander­in­Chief in the Mediterranean.
Henry William BAYNTUN (1766­1840)
Leviathan

17. Son of Mr Bayntun Consul General at Algiers, and was born in 1766. Entering the service at
any early age, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in 1783 at the age of sixteen. He saw
considerable service during the war with France commencing in 1793.
He served with the fleet under Sir John Jervis, in the West Indies; was engaged on shore at the
capture of Martinique in 1794. Commanded the Avenger (16g) after the death of her
commander, James Milne, the boats of which assisted in boarding and capturing the French
frigate Bienvenue (32g) and other vessels in Fort Royal Bay on the 17 March 1794; and was
present at the capture of Guadeloupe in April of the same year.
For his distinguished services on these occasions he was promoted to Commander and Captain
within four months. He commanded the Reunion (36g) which was wrecked in the Swin on
the 7 th
Dec 1796; and was present at the capture of Trinidad in February 1797. When Captain
of the Cumberland (74g) commanded a squadron off San Domingo in 1803, and on the 30 th
June captured the French frigate Creole, (40g) with troops on board, and the French vessels
Aiquille, Vigilante, Superieure and Poisson Volant.
In 1804 he was appointed to the command of the Leviathan (74g) and was employed in the
blockade of Toulon under Lord Nelson. He shared in the pursuit of the combined French and
Spanish fleets to the West Indies and back, and commanded her at Trafalgar, 1805 – gold
medal, the thanks of Parliament, and a sword of honour from the Patriotic Fund. He bore the
Guidon at Lord Nelson's funeral, in the water procession from Greenwich.
In 1807 he took part in the expedition Buenos Ayres. In 1811­12 he commanded the royal
yacht Royal Sovereign. He was promoted to Rear­Admiral in 1812, became KCB in 1815,
Vice­Admiral 1821, Admiral 1837, and GCB in 1839. He died in Bath in 1840.
Henry Blackwood
HMS Euryalus (frigate)
Vice Admiral the Hon. Sir Henry Blackwood, Bt., GCH, KCB was the fourth son of Sir John
Blackwood, 2 nd
. Baronet of Ballyliddy, Co. Down, by his marriage with Dorcas, Baroness

18. Dufferin and Claneboye. Born in 1770, he entered the service in 1781 and is said to have
served as a Volunteer in the Artois in the battle of the Dogger Bank the same year.
He was Signal Midshipman of the Queen Charlotte, flagship of Lord Howe, in 1790, and was
promoted to Lieutenant the same year. He served as First Lieutenant of the Invincible (74) in
Lord Howe's battle of 29 th
. May and in his victory of the [Glorious] 1 st
. June 1794, and he took
possession of the French 84 Le Juste – mentioned in despatches, promoted to Commander.
He was promoted to Captain in 1795; he commanded the Megara, 14, fireship, in Lord
Bridport's action off Groix, 1795; and in command of the Brilliant, frigate, captured the
Nonsuch of 64 guns in 1796.
In the following year, Brilliant was implicated in the mutiny of the Nore and he was compelled
by the mutineers to moor her across the river to obstruct the passage. In 1798, in command of
the Brilliant, after compelling a Spanish vessel of superior force to take refuge under the
batteries of Tenerife, he sustained a plucky action with, and effected his escape from, two
French ships of war, each mounting 36 guns. He commanded the Penelope, 36 guns, in the
Mediterranean in 1799 – 1802, including the capture of the Spanish N.S. del Carmen, 16, and
the blockade of Malta.
He particularly distinguished himself on the occasion of the capture of the Guillaume Tell, of
86 guns and 1,000 men, 1800. When the latter came out of Malta, it was the Penelope which
first sighted her, engaged her, and shot away her main and mizzen topsails, afterwards holding
on to the Frenchman until the Lion and Foudroyant were able to come up; for this service he
was specially mentioned by Nelson.
He was also present, in command of the Penelope, in the operations on the coast of Egypt in
1801, for which he received the Turkish gold medal. In 1803 he was appointed to the
command of the frigate Euryalus, in which he served on the coast of Ireland, in watching
Boulogne, and at Cadiz.
With his squadron of frigates he performed most valuable services in watching the Combined
[French and Spanish] fleet during the three weeks preceding the Battle of Trafalgar.
Summoned to the Victory on the morning of the battle, he was personally thanked by Lord
Nelson for his very valuable services; and was a witness, with Hardy, to the codicil of the will
in which Nelson bequeathed Lady Hamilton and the child Horatia to the care of the nation.
Although not actually engaged, the Euryalus performed valuable service during the battle and
made Lord Collingwood's signals after Royal Sovereign was disabled.
He was sent home with despatches, and in charge of the captured French Admiral, Pierre de
Villeneuve; and at the funeral of Lord Nelson acted as Train­bearer to the Chief Mourner, Sir
Peter Parker, the aged Admiral of the Fleet.
He received the gold medal, the Thanks of Parliament and a testimonial from the Patriotic
Fund. In 1806 he was appointed to the Ajax, 80 guns, and commanded her in Sir John
Duckworth's expedition to the Dardanelles in 1807, and on the occasion of her [accidental]
destruction by fire, when he was nearly drowned. He was tried by court martial and acquitted.
He then served as a Volunteer in the Royal George, bearing Sir John Duckworth's flag, during
the remainder of the expedition, including the forcing of the passage of the Dardanelles; and
was specially mentioned in the Admiral's despatches.

19. He commanded the Warspite from 1807 to 1813, including the blockade of Toulon in 1810 –
12, and was in charge of the inshore squadron in the action with six sail of the enemy's fleet –
received the thanks of the Commander in Chief, Sir Charles Cotton; and in 1813 captured three
"letters of marque" [privateers].
He was Captain of the Fleet at Spithead under HRH the Duke of Clarence on the occasion of
the visit of the Allied Sovereigns to England in 1814, in which year he created a baronet. He
was promoted to Rear Admiral in 1814, and created a KCB in 1819. He was Commander in
Chief in the East Indies from 1819 to 1822, Groom of the Bedchamber to King William IV
from 1824 to 1832; promoted to Vice Admiral in 1825, and was Commander in Chief at the
Nore from 1827 to 1830. He was also a GCH and a Knight of St. Ferdinand and Merit.
He died at Ballyliddy, Co. Down, in December 1832. His bust is in the Painted Hall,
Greenwich.
Sir Charles BULLEN (1768­1853)
Britannia
Charles Bullen was the son of John Bullen of Weymouth, by his marriage
with the daughter of Charles Liddell. Born at Newcastle 1768 he entered
service in 1779 as a Midshipman of the Loyalist at the reduction of
Charlestown 1780. Lieutenant 1791 and on the Ramillies in action of the
28 th
May at Lord Howe's victory of the 1 st
June 1794.
Lieutenant of the Monmouth under Lord Northesk during the Mutiny of the
Nore, 1797; 1 st
Lieutenant of her at the battle of Camperdown, 1797. Took
possession of the Dutch ship Delft, and displayed great exertion and
gallantry in saving many of the crew, being himself nearly drowned –
promoted Commander. Captain 1802. Flag­Captain of Britannia under
Lord Northesk at Trafalgar, 1805 gold Medal, thanks of Parliament, and
testimonial from Lloyd's Patriotic Fund).
During the years 1807­11 he commanded successively the frigates
Volontaire and Cambrian in the Mediterranean, off Toulon, and on the
coast of Spain. Captain of Akbar (50g) on the North American station
1814­17. CB 1815. Commodore, West Coast of Africa 1824­27.
Superintendent Pembroke Dockyard 1830.
Commissioner Chatham Dockyard 1831­32. Superintendent Pembroke
Dockyard 1832­37; Captain of Royal Sovereign yacht, 1830­37. Rear­
Admiral 1837. Vice­Admiral 1846. Admiral 1852. Knighted 1835 KCH
1835 KCB 1839 GCB 1852. War medal and three clasps. Died 2 nd
July
1853, at Shirley, Hants aged 86. His portrait is in the Painted Hall,
Greenwich.
Israel PELLEW (1758­1832)

20. Conqueror
The third son of Samuel Humphrey Pellew, commander of a Dover Packet, by his marriage
with Constance, daughter of Edward Langford; he was younger brother of Admiral Sir Edward
Pellew, first Viscount Exmouth. Born in 1758, he entered the service in 1771.
Served during the war of American Independence, 1778­79, and was in the Flora when she
sunk off Rhode Island to prevent her capture by the enemy in 1778. Promoted Lieutenant in
1779. Commanded the armed cutter Resolution when she captured the dangerous Dutch
privateer Flushinger, 1783. Promoted to Commander in 1790.
Served in the Nymphe, commanded by his brother, at the capture of the French frigate
Cleopatre the 18 th
June 1793 – promoted Captain. Was in command of the Amphion when
she was accidentally blown up at Plymouth in 1796. Was Captain of the Greyhound during
the Mutiny of the Nore in 1797, and the crew of the ship put him on shore.
Appointed Captain of the Conqueror (74g) in 1804 he was present in the pursuit of the French
fleet to the West Indies and back, and in the battle of Trafalgar, 1805, when the French
flagship Bucentaure and another struck to the Conqueror, which, with the Neptune, also
accounted for the Spanish Santissima Trinidada – received a gold medal, the thanks of
Parliament, and a sword of honour from the Patriotic Fund.
Commanded the Conqueror till 1808, with Sir Samuel Hood's squadron off Rochefort, and
protecting British interest in the Tagus. Became Rear­Admiral in 1810. Captain of the
Mediterranean Fleet under Lord Exmouth, in 1811­15. Created a KCB 1815. Vice­Admiral
1819. Admiral 1830. Died in Plymouth in 1832.
Henry DIGBY (1770­1842)
Africa
Grandson of the 1 st
Earl of Digby, was the son of the Very Rev. the Hon.William Digby,
DCL Dean of Durham, and Chaplain to George III., by his marriage with Charlotte, daughter
of Joseph Cox.
Born at Bath in 1770, he entered the service in 1783. He was promoted to Lieutenant in
1790. In 1795, when Lieutenant in the Pallas, he performed valuable service on the
occasion of the loss of the Boyne. Promoted to Commander in 1795. In command of the
Incendiary, sloop, and the Aurora, frigate, he made several valuable captures in 1796,
including a Spanish frigate, a French corvette, and a privateer, and seven others, with forty­
eight sail of merchantmen.
He was promoted to Captain in 1796; and in 1798 commanded the Leviathan, bearing the
broad pennant of Commodore Duckworth, at the reduction of Minorca. In 1799 he was
appointed to the Alcmene frigate, in command of which he cruised between the coast of
Portugal and the Azores, making numerous important captures, including the French
privateer Courageux (28g); and assisted in that of the rich Spanish treasure ship, Santa
Brigada, of thirty­six guns, having aboard over a million dollars. In command of the
Resistance, frigate, in 1801, he captured the French Elizabeth on the way to North America.

21. In command of the Africa (64g) he took a leading part in the battle of Trafalgar 1805 in
which his ship was seriously engaged. He received the gold medal, the thanks of
Parliament, and a sword of honour from the Patriotic Fund. He was created a CB in 1815,
was promoted to Rear­Admiral in 1819, Vice­Admiral in 1830, and Admiral in 1841. He
was advanced to KCB in 1831, and GCB in 1842, and was Commander­in­Chief at
Sheerness in 1840­41. He died at Minterne, Dorsetshire in 1842.
John PILFOLD ( ­1834)
Ajax
Second son of Charles Pilfold of Horsham, Sussex and Bathia daughter of William White of
Horsham. He entered the service in 1788. He served as Master's Mate in the Brunswick
(74g) in Lord Howe's victory of the 1 st
June 1794 – promoted Lieutenant. Lieutenant in the
Russell (74g), in Lord Bridport's action of Groix 1795. As Lieutenant in the Kingfisher
sloop assisted in the capture of several privateers in 1796; and behaved very pluckily on the
occasion of a mutiny on board.
Lieutenant in the Impetueux (78g) with the squadron co­operating with the insurgent French
Royalists in the Morbihan in 1800; commanded a division of boasts which captured and
destroyed the French 18­gun corvette Insolante, carried off several small craft and prisoners,
destroyed some guns, and blew up a magazine.
Served as 1 st
Lieut. Of the Ajax (74g) in Sir Robert Calder's action of the 22 nd
July 1805; and,
in the absence of the Captain, commanded her at Trafalgar 1805 for which he received the
gold medal, the thanks of Parliament, a sword of honour from the Patriotic Fund, and an
honorary augmentation to his arms. Created CB 1815 Captain of the Ordinary at
Plymouth 1828­31. Died in Stonehouse, Devon 1834.
Edward CODRINGTON (1770­1851)
Orion
Third son of Edward Codrington, of Dodington Park, Gloucestershire, and grandson of Sir
William Codrington, 1 st
Bart., of Dodington, and was born in 1770. Educated at Harrow, he
entered the service in 1783 as Midshipman. Promoted to Lieutenant 1793.
As Lieutenant in the Queen Charlotte, flagship of Lord Howe, in 1793­94, including the pursuit
of the French fleet under Van Stabel in 1793, the actions of the 28/29 th
May, and that of the
glorious 1 st
June 1794. Was sent home by Lord Howe with the duplicate despatches
announcing the safe arrival of the fleet and the prizes off the Isle of Wight – promoted
Commander. Appointed to the Comet, fireship, to accompany Lord Howe in his unexpected
battle of the French fleet in October 1794. Captain 1795.
Commanded La Babet, frigate, in Lord Bridport's action with the French fleet off isle Groix,
the 23 rd
June 1795 – received thanks of Parliament. Commanded the Druid (32g) in company

22. with the frigates Unicorn and Doris, at the capture of the Ville De l'Orient, a troopship of the
French squadron intended to invade Ireland.
Captain of the Orion (74g) in 1805­6, including the blockade of Cadiz under Lord
Collingwood, and the battle of Trafalgar, 21 st
October, 1805 – received the gold medal, the
thanks of Parliament, and a sword of honour from the Patriotic Fund. Captain of the Blake
(74g) flagship of Lord Gardner, in the Walcheren expedition, 1809, and was specially
mentioned in despatches for his services at the forcing of the Scheldt, when the Blake was
twice set on fire by red­hot shot, and aground for nearly three hours under fire of the
batteries. Next year she was sent to the coast of Portugal and Spain, and took part in the
defence of Cadiz.
In 1812­13 he commanded a squadron on the coast of Spain, and performed valuable service at
the defence of Tarragona, the defeat of the French near Villa Succa, and on other occasions.
Appointed Colonel, Royal Marines, 1813. Rear­Admiral 1814.
Captain of the Tonnant and Captain of the fleet under Sir Alex. Cochrane, in the American
War 1814­15, including the capture of Washington, the destruction of the American fleet on
the Penobscot, the capture of Alexandria, the expedition against Baltimore, and the attack on
New Orleans – mentioned in despatches, thanks of Parliament and KCB. Promoted to Vice­
Admiral 1821.
Commander­in­Chief in the Mediterranean in 1626­28, with his flag in the Asia, and
commanded the British, French, and Russian squadrons employed in the pacification of
Greece, and at the battle Navarino, the 20 th
October 1827, for which services he received GCB,
the St. Louis and Legion of Honour of France, the St. George of Russia, and the Redeemer of
Greece.
Commanded the Evolutionary Squadron in the Channel in 1831. Admiral 1837. Commander
–in­Chief, Portsmouth 1839­42. MP for Davenport 1832­40. Died Eaton Square, London
1851 and buried at St. Peter's.
Charles John Moore MANSFIELD ( ­ 1813)
Minotaur
Promoted Lieutenant 1778 – Commander 1793 – Captain 1794. In 1796­97 he commanded
the Andromache (32g) in the Mediterranean. On 31 st
January 1797 an Algerine corsair of
twenty­four guns mistook her for a Portuguese frigate, and found that she had caught a Tartar.
The Algerine lost sixty­four killed and forty wounded, to the Andromache's two killed and four
wounded, and struck her colours.
In command of the Minotaur (74g) and in conjunction with the Thunderer, he captured the
French 40 gun frigate Franchise in the Channel on the 28 th
May 1803. He commanded the
Minotaur in the weather column at Trafalgar, 1805 (gold medal, thanks of Parliament, and
sword of honour from the Patriotic Fund); and in the expedition to Copenhagen in 1807,
bearing the flag of Rear­Admiral William Essington, third in command. He died in May 1813.
Francis LAFOREY ( 1767­1835)

23. Spartiate
Son of Admiral Sir John Laforey, 1 st
Bart., and Eleanor, daughter of Colonel Francis Farley.
He was born in Virginia in 1767, and entered the service in 1780. Lieutenant 1789.
Commander 1790. Commanded the Fairy (16g) in the West Indies in 1791­1793, including
the capture of Tobago in the Windward Islands in 1793, and was sent home with the
despatches – promoted Captain. In command of the 28 gun frigate Carysfoot recaptured, on
the 29 May 1794, off Lands End, the 32 gun Castor, which had been taken nineteen days
earlier and commissioned by the French.
Commanded the Scipio (64g) with his father, in the Leeward Island in 1795­96, and assisted in
the capture of the Dutch settlements of Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice in 1796. In
command of the 38 gun frigate Hydra, took part in the pursuit and destruction of the French
frigate Confiante near Le Havre in 1798. Commanded the Spartiate (74g) in the West Indies
in 1805, and at the Battle of Trafalgar 1805 – gold medal, the thanks of Parliament, and a
sword of honour from the Patriotic Fund. He carried the standard in the first barge in Lord
Nelson's funeral from Greenwich.
Still in command of the Spartiate, was with Sir Richard Strachan at Rochefort in 1807­8,
blockading Vice­Admiral Allemand's fleet; and in 1809 assisted in the capture of the
Neapolitan islands of Ischia and Procida. Rear­Admiral 1810. Commander­in­Chief,
Leeward islands, 1811­14. KCB 1815. Vice­Admiral 1819. Admiral 1830, and died
Bright in 1835.
The Lee Column
Edward ROTHERAM (1753­1830)
Royal Sovereign
Born at Hexham, Northumberland in 1753 and entered the service in 1777. Midshipman and
Master's Mate 1778­82. Acting­Lieutenant of Monarch in Lord Howe's action 1780­82.
Lieutenant 1783. Senior Lieutenant of Culloden in Lord Howe's victory of the 1 st
June 1794 –
promoted Commander. Captain 1800.
Captain of Royal Sovereign, and Flag­Captain to Admiral Collingwood at Trafalgar, 1805 –
gold medal, and sword from the Patriotic Fund. Captain of the Bellerophon escorting the
Victory, with the body of Nelson on board, to England, and commanded her in the Channel and
the Baltic in 1806­9. Carried the guidon at Nelson's funeral 1806. CB 1815. Captain of
Greenwich Hospital 1828­30. Died 1830 at Bildeston, Suffolk.
William HARGOOD (1762­1839)
Belleisle
The youngest son of Hezekiah Hargood, Purser, RN., and was born in 1762. He entered the
service in 1773. Midshipman in the Bristol at the attack on Sullivan's Island, North America,

24. 1776. Lieutenant 1780. Lieutenant in the Port Royal when captured by the Spaniards in the
unsuccessful defence of Pansacola 1781.
Lieutenant in the Magnificent in Lord Rodney's two actions off Dominica in 1732.
Lieutenant in the Hebe frigate with HRH Prince William Henry (afterwards William lV).,
1785; accompanying him as one of his lieutenants in the Pegasus 1786, and as his 1 st
Lieutenant in the Andromeda in 1788­89. Commander 1789. Captain 1790. Commanded
the Hyaena frigate when she was captured off Cape Tiberon by the French frigate Concorde in
1793; was made prisoner, but escaped.
On his return he was tried by the court­martial, for the loss of his ship, and acquitted. Captain
of the Leopard the crew of which mutinied at the Nore in 1797, and put him ashore at
Yarmouth. Captain of the Belleisle off Toulon with Nelson in 1803­4; in pursuit of the
combined fleets to the West Indies and back in 1805; and at Trafalgar, 1805 – gold medal, the
thanks of Parliament, and a sword of honour from the Patriotic Fund.
Captain of the Belleisle, in conjunction with the Bellona and Melampus, at the capture and
destruction of the French ship Impeteux 1806. Colonel, Royal Marines 1808. Captain of
the Northumberland at the blockade of Lisbon 1808, and co­operating with the Austrians in the
Adriatic, 1809. Rear Admiral 1810. Second in command, Portsmouth 1810­11.
Commanded a squadron in the Channel Islands 1811. Vice­Admiral 1814. KCB 1815.
GCH and GCB 1831, at the coronation of William IV., with whom he was in personal
friendship as an old messmate and shipmate. Commander­in­Chief at Plymouth 1833­36.
Died at the Royal Crescent, Bath in 1839 aged 77. His portrait is in the Painted Hall,
Greenwich.
Charles TYLER (1760­1835)
Tonnant
Third son of Captain Peter Tyler, 52 nd
Foot, and Hon. Anna Maria Roper, daughter of Henry,
8 th
Lord Teynham. He was born in 160, and entered the service in 1771. Became Lieutenant
1779. Commander 1782 and Captain 1790. Captain of the Meleager (32g) with the fleet
under Admiral hood at Toulon in 1793; and at the reduction of Calvi, Corsica in 1794.
Captain of the Diadem (64g) in Vice­Admiral Hotham's action with the French off Genoa in
1795. Captain of the Aigle (38g) at the capture of privateers in 1796­7; and on the 18 th
July in
the following year he was wrecked in her off Cape Farina. Captain of the Warrior (74g) at the
blockade of Cadiz, and at the battle of Copenhagen, 1801 – received the thanks of
Parliament.
Commanded Sea Fencibles, 1803­5. Captain of the Tonnant (80g) in the battle of Trafalgar,
1805 – severely wounded, gold medal, the thanks of Parliament, and a sword of honour from
the Patriotic Fund. For his wound – a musket ball in the right thigh – he received a grant from
the Patriotic Fund, and a Government pension of £250 per annum. He was present at the
surrender of the Russian fleet at Lisbon in 1808. Rear­Admiral 1808 – Vice –Admiral
1813. Commander­in­Chief, Cape of Good Hope 1812­15. KCB 1815 – Admiral 1825 –
GCB 1833. Died at the Spa, Gloucester in 1835.

25. John COOKE (1763­1805)
Bellerophon
Son of Francis Cooke, a cashier under the Admiralty, he was born in 1763and entered service
in 1776. As a Midshipman he served during the War of American Independence, and was in
the Eagle in the attack on Rhode Island 1776. Was promoted Lieutenant in 1779 and served
in the Duke in Lord Rodney's defeat of the French under De Grasse off Dominica in 1782.
Promoted to Commander in 1793 he commanded the Incendiary fireship in Lord Howe's
victory of the 1 st
June 1794 – promoted Captain.
Captain of the Nymphe at the capture, in conjuction with the San Fiorenza, of the French
frigates Resistance and Constance – 1797. Was in command of the Nymphe at the time of the
mutiny of the fleet at the Nore in 1797, when his crew mutinied and put him on shore.
Captain of the Amethyst (38g) in the expedition to Holland in 1799, and took out HRH the
Duke of York and his staff. Commanded her in the operations under Lord Bridport near
Quiberon, and in the expedition to Ferrol under Rear­Admiral Sir JB Warren in 1800.
On the 29 July 1800, her boats, in conjunction with others, captured the French Cerbere, and
on the 29 th
August in the same year cut out the French 18­gun ship Guepe. In the same year
he captured the French corvette Vaillante. In 1801, still in command of the Amethyst, he
captured in the Channel the French frigate La Dedaigneuse, and the Spanish ship General
Brune. Commanded the Bellerophon (74g) in the battle of Trafalgar 1805 when she formed
one of the lee division under Collingwood, and greatly distinguished himself.
When the signal, "England expects that every man will do his duty," was made out on the
Victory, Captain Cooke went below and visited the guns' crews on each deck, giving them
Nelson's message. She soon after came under fire; and fighting was fast and furious; and men
were falling all round him.
The first lieutenant, Cumby, pointed out to him that he was wearing his epaulettes and was
marked out by them by the men in the enemy's tops. "It is too late to take them off," he
replied; "I see my situation, but will die like a man." A few minutes later when in the act of
reloading his pistols, he fell with two musket balls in the breast.
The quartermaster asked that he should take him below. "No; let me die quietly one minute,"
was the reply. He died at eleven minutes past one, saying with his last breath, "Tell Lieut.
Cumby never to strike." There is a monumental tablet to Captain Cooke's memory in St.
Paul's Cathedral, and another in The Church of St Andrew, Donhead St Andrew, Nr.
Shaftesbury, Wilts.. The Church of St Andrew are hoping to have the monument fully restored
for the 2005 bicentenary, and are currently trying to raise the necessary funds (£893). The
church is open during daylight hours and visitors are welcome.
Captain Cooke’s widow received the gold medal for the battle, and a handsome silver vase
from the Patriotic Fund.

26. James Nicoll MORRIS (1763­1830)
Colossus
Son of Captain John Morris RN who fell in command of the Bristol in the unsuccessful attack
on the Sullivan's Island, Charlestown, during the War of American Independence in 1776. He
was born in 1763, and entered the service in 1775. He was present in the Prince of Wales in
the actions of St. Lucia and Grenada in 1779, and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in
1780. Lieutenant in the Plato sloop at the capture of the French ship Lutine on the
Newfoundland station in 1793. Promoted to Captain 1793.
Captain of the frigate Lively when lost on Rota Point, near Cadiz 1798. In the Phaeton
conducted Lord Elgin to Constantinople in 1799, and served near Genoa, co­operating with the
Austrians in 1800. Captain of the Colossus (74g) at the blockade of Brest, and watching
Cadiz in 1804­5, and at the battle of Trafalgar 1805.
He was severely wounded in the thigh, but the bleeding being stopped by a tourniquet, he
remained on deck till the close of the action, when he fainted from the loss of blood and was
carried below, and landed some days later at Gibraltar. He received the thanks of Parliament,
the gold medal, and a sword of honour from Lloyd's Patriotic Fund.
Appointed a Colonel of Marines 1810 – Rear­Admiral 1811. Third in command in the Baltic
1812. KCB 1815 – Vice­Admiral 1819. Died in Marlow on 15 th
April 1830.
Richard KING (1774­1834)
Achille
Only son of Admiral Sir Richard King Kt., MP by Susannah Margaretta, daughter of William
Coker of Maypowder, Dorset. He was born 1774 and entered the service in 1788. He was
promoted Lieutenant in 1791 and Captain in 1794. He was a member of the court­martial
which tried Richard Parker, the ringleader in the Mutiny on the Nore in 1797.
When Captain of the 36 gun frigate Sirious in 1797­1802, he captured the Dutch ships Furie of
36 guns and 153 men, and the Waakzamheid of 26 guns and 100 men, on the 14 October 1798;
and in the same month made a prize of La Favorie (6g), off the coast of France, and a Spanish
brig. Under him the Sirius did gallant service, in company with the L'Oiseau, in capturing La
Dedaigneuse, French frigate of 36 guns and 300 men, bound from Cayenne to Rochefort with
despatches, on the 27 January 1801.
In the spring of 1805 he was appointed to the Achille (74g) which he commanded at the battle
Trafalgar. In the lee column she did excellent service and lost heavily; he was rewarded with
the gold medal, received the thanks of Parliament, and a sword of honour from the Patriotic
Fund. In 1806 he succeeded to the baronetcy.
In 1808 he was employed in the blockade of Ferrol and in 1810­11 at the blockade of Cadiz.
He was Captain of the Fleet in the Mediterranean in 1811­12, when he obtained his promotion
to Rear­Admiral; and which, until the end of the war, he had his flag in the San Joseph (110g)
off Toulon. In 1815 he was nominated a KCB and in the spring of 1816 was appointed

27. Commander­in­Chief in the East Indies, which appointment he retained until 1810. He
became Vice­Admiral in 1821; was Commander­in­Chief at the Nore in 1833­34; and died of
cholera at Admiralty House, Sheerness in 1834.
John CONN (1764­1810)
Dreadnought
A member of the Irish family of that name at Mount Ida, Waterford, was born in Ireland in
1764, and entered the service in 1778.
Became Lieutenant in 1793 and was in the Royal Sovereign in Lord Howe's victory of the 1 st
June 1794. Commander 1800. Commanded the Discovery bomb at the battle of
Copenhagen 1801. Commanded a division of mortar boats in the attack on the French flotilla
at Boulogne on 15 th
August 1801. Captain in 1802. Captain of the Canopus (80g), flagship
of Rear­Admiral George Campbell, with Lord Nelson's force blockading the French in Toulon
1803­5; and was in the affair off Cape Cepet, on the 24 August 1804, and in the pursuit of the
French fleet in January and February 1805.
Commanded the Dreadnought (98g) in the battle of Trafalgar 1805, when the Spanish (74g)
San Juan struck to her. Received a gold medal, and a sword of honour from the Patriotic
Fund. When in command of the Swiftsure, was drowned off the Bermudas, in 1810. He was
a cousin, by marriage, to Lord Nelson, having married a daughter of the Rev. Isaac Nelson,
Rector of Meldon and Vicar of Mitford.
Robert REDMILL (??­1819)
Polyphemus
Entered the service at an early age and promoted to Lieutenant in 1783. He was promoted to
Commander in 1795. Commanded the Comet (14g) fireship, in 1795­96, including Hotham's
action with the French in July 1795. Promoted to Captain in 1796.
He commanded the Delft (64g) in 1799­1802, including the operations on the coast of Egypt in
1801, for which he received the Turkish gold medal. Captain of the Polyphemus (64g), in
1805­6, including the battle of Trafalgar 1805 – gold medal, thanks of Parliament, and a sword
of honour from the Patriotic Fund. Relieved on account of ill­health in 1806. Created CB
1815 and died in March 1819.
Robert MOORSOM (1760­1835)
Revenge
Second son of Richard Moorsom of Airy Hill, Whitby, Yorkshire, and born in June 1760.
Entered navy 1777, Midshipman 1778 and served in the Courageux in Keppel's indecisive
action in the Channel with the French in June 1778; was at the relief of Gibraltar by Vice
Admiral George Darby in 1781; the final relief by Lord Howe in 1782; the action off Cape
Spartel; and the capture by Admiral Kempenfelt of part of a convoy going to the West Indies,
with Admiral De Guichen, 1782.

28. Lieutenant 1784. Appointed to Ariel 1787; Commander 1789. Captain 1790. During the
French Revolutionary War he commanded the Niger and Astrea frigates and the Hindustan
(50).
In 1804 he commanded the Majestic and in April 1805 was posted to the Revenge (74) in
which he served with the blockading squadron before Cadiz and in The Battle of Trafalgar,
1805, in which his ship was seriously engaged and he himself wounded. Received the Gold
Medal, the thanks of Parliament and a sword of honour from the Patriotic fund.
He carried the great banner at Lord Nelson's funeral. He was Private Secretary to the First
Lord of the Admiralty, Lord Mulgrave in 1807; Colonel Royal Marines, 1808; Lord
Commissioner of the Admiralty 1809 ­; Surveyor General of the Ordnance, 1810 ­ 1820.
Member of Parliament for Queenborough, Sheerness. Rear Admiral 1810; Vice Admiral 1814;
KCB, 1815. Commander­in­Chief, Chatham 1824­27. Admiral 1830.
Died in 1835 at Cosgrove Priory, Northamptonshire.
The Nelson Society is grateful to Mrs. Elaine Drake for providing additional information for
this entry.
William Gordon RUTHERFORD (1764­1818)
Swiftsure
Son of John Rutherford, of Bowland Stow, near Edinburgh, and Frances, widow of Gabriel
Johnson, Governor of North Carolina. He was born in North Carolina in 1764; educated at
Edinburgh and St. Andrew's University, and entered the service as a boy in 1778.
He served as Acting Lieutenant in the Boyne (98g) flagship of Vice­Admiral Sir John Jervis, in
the West Indies 1793. Promoted to Lieutenant 1794. Accompanied the combined naval and
military expedition for the capture of Martinique, and greatly distinguished himself on shore
with a division of bluejackets, 1794 – mentioned in despatches, promoted to Commander.
Promoted to Captain, 1796.
Took part in the capture of the island of Curacoa September 1800. Continued on the West
Indian station until 1804, in command successively of the Nautilus, Adventure, Dictator,
Brunswick, and Decade. Commanded the latter in a 36 gun frigate, at the blockade of
Cherbourg in 1804. In 1805 was appointed to the Swiftsure (74g) which he commanded at
Trafalgar, 1805 – received the thanks of Parliament, a gold medal, and a sword of honour from
the Patriotic Fund. Captain of Greenwich Hospital 1814. CB 1815. Died in Greenwich
Hospital, 1818, and was buried in St. Margaret's, Westminster, where a tablet was erected to
his memory.
Philip Charles DURHAM (1763­1845)
Defiance

29. Third son of James Durham of Largo Fifeshire by Ann, daughter and heiress of Thomas
Calderwood, of Polton, Lasswade, Midlothian; he was brother of General James Durham, of
Largo, to which property he succeeded in 1840. Born in 1763, he entered the service in
1777.
He was present in the Edgar at the relief of Gibraltar by Admiral Darby in 1781, and was
Acting­Lieutenant and Officer of the Watch in the Royal George when she sank at Spithead in
1782, being one of the few saved, after being an hour in the water. Served in the Union at the
relief of Gibraltar by Lord Howe in 1782, and in the action with the combined fleets off Cape
Spartel. Lieutenant 1782 ­ Commander 1790 – Captain 1793. Commanded the Spitfire at the
capture of the Afrique, French privateer, 1793. Captain of the Anson in the action off Isle
Groiz and L'Orient, 1795, and in the expedition to Quiberon Bay, 1795. Commanded the
Anson in Sir JB Warren's action with the French squadron, and the capture of the 74­gun ship
Hoche and two frigates off Tory Island, the 12 th
October 1798 – thanks of Parliament.
Captain of the Defiance in Calder's action off Finisterre, 1805, and in the battle of Trafalgar
1805 – slightly wounded; gold medal, thanks of Parliament, and sword of honour from the
Patriotic Fund. Bore Nelson's banner as a KB at his funeral, 1806. Served as Commodore in
the Mediterranean, and, under Rear­Admiral Martain, was engaged at the destruction of two
French ships near Cette. Rear­Admiral 1810. Commander­in­Chief, Leeward islands, 1813­
16, with his flag in the Venerable, including the capture of the two French frigates Alcmene
and Iphigenie, the 16 th
January, 1814; and at the reduction of Martinique and Guadeloupe,
1815 – created a KCB., Knight Grand Cross of the French order of Military merit. Vice­
Admiral 1819 – Admiral 1830 – GCB 1830 – MP for Queenborough 1830, and Devizes, 1835­
36. Commander­in­Chief, Portsmouth 1836­39. Equerry to HRH the Duke of Cambridge.
Assumed additional surnames of Henderson in 1817, and Calderwood in 1840. Died in
Naples in 1845. His portrait is in the Painted Hall, Greenwich.
John STOCKHAM (??­1814)
Thunderer
Was promoted lieutenant in 1797. Served as 1 st
Lieutenant of the Thunderer in Sir Robert
Calder's action in July 1805, and when Captain Lechmere was sent home to attend the court
martial, acted as her captain at Trafalgar, 1805 – promoted Captain, gold medal, thanks of
Parliament, and a sword of honour from the Patriotic Fund. Died in Exeter 1814.
George Johnstone HOPE (1767­1818)
Defence
Son of Hon. Charles Hope­Vere by his third wife, Helen, daughter of George Dunbar, and was
grandson of Charles, 1 st
Earl of Hopetoun. He was born in 1767, and entered the service in
1782. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1788, and Commander in 1790. On the
commencement of war with France in 1793, he was in command of the Bulldog (14g), in the
Mediterranean, and was for some time employed on convoy service at Toulon under Vice­
Admiral Lord Hood. He was promoted Captain in 1793.

30. He commanded the Romulus (36g), in Vice­Admiral Sir William Hotham's action with the
French off Genoa, 1795. In 1798 he was commanding the Alcmene before Alexandria under
Captain Samuel Hood, and on the 22 nd
August chased and captured the French gunboat Legere,
carrying despatches for Napoleon. A French officer, at the moment of capture, threw the
papers overboard, but they were recovered by two seamen of the Alcmene who jumped in after
them. Commanded the Leda (38g), during the operations on the coast of Egypt in 1801.
He commanded the Defence (74g), in the battle of Trafalgar, 1805, and was much
distinguished – received the gold medal, the thanks of Parliament, and a sword of honour from
the Patriotic Fund. He was captain of the Victory (100g), bearing the flag of Vice­Admiral
Sir James Saumarez, in the expedition of the Baltic in 1808, when, though the army was not
employed and returned to England, the navy rendered excellent service. He continued as
captain of the Baltic Fleet until promoted to Rear­Admiral in 1811. He was a Lord of the
Admiralty in 1812­13, when he was sent to bring over the Russian fleet to England during the
French invasion of Russia. He then returned tot he Admiralty, where he remained till his
death. He was for some time MP for East Grinstead in Sussex, and was appointed a Major­
General in the Royal Marines in 1818. He died at the Admiralty in 1818, and was buried at
Westminster Abbey.
Richard GRINDALL (??­1820)
Prince
Born 1750 and entered the Navy at a very early age. He was promoted to Lieutenant 1776 –
Commander 1781 – and Captain 1783. In command of the Thalia (36g), he captured the
French ship Requin (12g), off Dunkirk 1795. He commanded the Irresistible (74g) in Lord
Bridport's successful action with the French off Isle Groix, 1795 – wounded.
He was captain of the Ramillies (74g), with the blockading force off Rochefort in June 1799;
and, in command of her, was detached in the following year by Lord St. Vincent with the
squadron from Brest directed to co­operate with the insurgent French Royalists in the
Morbihan.
He was captain of the Prince at Trafalgar 1805 – gold medal, the thanks of Parliament, and
sword of honour from the Patriotic Fund. He was promoted Rear­Admiral, 1805, Vice­
Admiral, 1810, and created a KCB in 1815. He died in 1820.
Captain George Duff
HMS Mars
Captain George Duff was the son of George Duff of Banff, Scotland, and grandson of
Alexander Duff of Banff, and Anne, eldest daughter of the 1 st
. Earl of Fife. He was born in
1764, and entered the service in 1777.
He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1779, and in the following year, when in the Panther was
present at the capture of the Spanish Admiral Don Juan de Langara. As Lieutenant in the
Montagu he was present in Lord Rodney's action off Martinique, the siege of St. Kitts, and the

31. capture of the French Commander De Grasse, in 1782.
Commander, 1790. Captain, 1793. Commanded the Duke, 98, in the unsuccessful operations
against Martinique in 1793, the Vengeance during the mutiny in Bantry Bay in 1797, and the
Glenmore, 36, when she recaptured the East Indiaman Calcutta in 1799, which the French had
just taken near Madeira. He commanded the Mars, 74, during the blockade of Rochefort and
Brest in 1804­5 and in the Battle of Trafalgar, where he lost his life, 1805.
He was killed early in the action by a shot that carried off his head; his fell on the gangway,
where it remained, covered by a Union Flag, till the end of the battle. A monument to his
memory is in St. Paul's Cathedral; his family received the gold medal for the battle, a piece of
plate from the Patriotic Fund and an honourable augmentation of arms.
He was grand­nephew to Vice Admiral Robert Duff, who died in 1787, and father of Vice
Admiral Norwich Duff who had been present as a Volunteer in the Mars at Trafalgar, and died
in 1862.
The Nelson Touch
Seven years before Trafalgar Nelson had changed the face of naval warfare at the Battle of the
Nile. A head­on attack at dusk upon a fortified fleet might have seemed foolhardy to any other
admiral. Not to Nelson. He had briefed his Captains in fine detail and made them drill their
gun crews to the point at which day or night made little difference. So it was at Trafalgar.
The illustration shows the two­column attack that Nelson devised to split the enemy fleet into
three distinct sections. The important point here is that those to the north of the centre of the
enemy fleet were "cut off" from the battle because it would take them an hour or so to turn
round and get into action. This changed the odds in Nelson's favour. In that hour the British
gunners inflicted appalling damage upon the enemy ships they engaged and by the time the
leading ships did get back into action they could only witness an overwhelming defeat. More

32. than half of the Combined French and Spanish fleet eventually surrendered under the relentless
gunfire.
See